There are a wide variety of different types of agricultural machines. Some agricultural machines include planters that have row units. For instance, a row unit is often mounted on a planter with a plurality of other row units. The planter is often towed by a tractor over soil where seed is planted in the soil, using the row units. The row units on the planter follow the ground profile by using a combination of a downforce assembly that imparts a downforce on the row unit to push disc openers into the ground and gauge wheels to set depth of penetration of the disc openers. Some current downforce assemblies provide a relatively fixed downforce. Some allow an operator to change the downforce applied to the row unit by adjusting a mechanical mechanism on the row unit, and others allow the operator to change the downforce from the operator compartment.
In many current systems, the gauge wheels are mounted to the row unit by one or more gauge wheel arms. Setting the seed depth on the planter is done by stopping the planter, exiting the operator compartment and manually adjusting a gauge arm stop to limit movement of the gauge wheel relative to the disc opener. The manual adjustment mechanism often uses a spindle drive, a handle, or another mechanical mechanism that can be used to adjust seed depth. This type of adjustment is somewhat cumbersome and time consuming. It also does not lend itself to frequent changes, because of its cumbersome and time consuming nature.
Therefore, many planting operations are performed with sub-optimal planting seed depth settings. This can result in a loss of yield potential. For instance, at the beginning of a corn planting operation, the operator may set the seed depth to two inches and then leave it at that depth until the corn planting operation is completed. The operator may leave it at this depth even though the depth may be sub-optimal for changing environmental or soil characteristics.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.